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We love local

At Derbyshire Catering service, we take pride in using high quality produce to create our meals.

Overall, 72% of all raw ingredients used in our meals are sourced in the U.K (that’s 13% higher than the national average) and we have strict criteria for all of our ingredients.

For example:

  • all meat served is British and Red Tractor farm assured, meaning it can be traced back to the farm
  • all eggs are Red Lion stamped
  • no fish that is served is on the Marine Conservation Society fish to avoid list

Our local sourcing and high-quality ingredients have led us to be awarded the silver Food for Life Served Here award, in all our primary schools and bronze across our secondary school sites.

Find out more about the Food for Life Schools Award.

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We love cooking

With great food comes great responsibility and our catering teams are up to the challenge.

All  our meals, sandwiches and desserts are made fresh on site or at a local hub kitchen every day by our talented teams. We are very proud of our cooks, some of whom have won awards for their skills in national competitions.

Many of our catering staff members have worked with us for over a decade. Our knowledgeable health and safety team ensure that all team members are trained to create tasty, nutritional, and safe meals for pupils to enjoy.

We are lucky to have passionate and caring catering teams who only want the best for pupils.

Good to know

Food is fuel so we leave out or reduce certain ingredients to support the health of all pupils.

For example:

  1. No genetically modified ingredients are ever used in our meals
  2. Our meals are free from undesirable additives and artificial trans fats
  3. We use herbs to season our meals instead of salt
  4. We have reduced the sugar in our desserts by 33%
  5. We bake or steam dishes to lock in nutrients

Derbyshire Catering Service retains its ‘Food for Life Served Here’ Awards

Derbyshire Catering Service (DCS) are pleased to advise that all the Primary schools catered for by the Service have been accredited with the Silver ‘Food for Life Served Here’ Award and all Secondary Schools the Bronze ‘Food for Life Served Here’ Award.

The Food for Life Served Here scheme (FfLSH) is a point-based system and the foods served throughout the school day are monitored with points being achieved for sourcing environmentally friendly and ethical foods, ensuring steps are taken towards promoting healthy eating as the easy option and championing local food suppliers.

Award winning Chefs and menus – 'Food for Life' Silver Award - Childbase